Less than a year after being hired as offensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears, Shane Waldron has been relieved of his duties by the club on Tuesday.
Head coach Matt Eberflus told reporters that there would be changes coming for the Bears following their 19-3 loss to the Patriots on Sunday. Evidently the first domino to fall is Waldron, who will be replaced by passing game coordinator Thomas Brown for the duration of the season.
“After evaluating our entire operation, I decided that it is in the best interest of our team to move in a different direction with the leadership of our offense,” Eberflus said in a statement released by the team. “This decision was well-thought-out, one that was conducted deliberately and respectfully. I would like to thank Shane for his efforts and wish him the best moving forward.”
“Thomas is a bright offensive mind who has experience calling plays with a collaborative mindset. I look forward to his leadership over our offensive coaching staff and his plan for our players,” Eberflus continued.
The move doesn’t come as a surprise as Chicago has dropped 3 straight contests, averaging only 9 points per game during that stretch. The Bears rank 24th in points scored, 28th in yards per carry, 30th in yards per pass, 30th in total yards, 31st in third down conversions and 31st in yards per play.
All of that combined together has resulted in a 4-5 record, with no wins (0-4) on the road to date. That mark puts them in last place in the ultra-competitive NFC North, well behind the Lions (8-1), Vikings (7-2) and Packers (6-3).
After spending the 1st overall pick on USC quarterback Caleb Williams, and the 9th overall pick on Washington WR Rome Odunze, expectations for Chicago were high heading into the season. However, Williams has now lost to fellow rookie QBs Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels in 2 of the last 3 contests, with the former Heisman winner seeming to take a step backwards in terms of his development since late October.
The 22 year old was sacked 9 times by the Patriots on Sunday, while completing only 16 of his 30 passes for 122 yards. Williams has thrown for over 230 yards only twice on the season, and has had 5 games with no passing TDs to start his NFL career.
After appearing to break out on October 6th and 13th when he threw 6 TDs and passed for 530 yards through the air against the Panthers and Jaguars, the former Trojan has struggled mightily against the Commanders, Cardinals and Patriots. Williams failed to pass for a TD in any of the games, and posted 41.7, 53.7, and 53.3 completion percentages in Chicago’s losses.
The Bears defence has been doing their job as they’ve held opponents to 21 points or fewer in all but 1 game on the season. Their unit ranks 7th against the pass, 7th in scoring defence, 7th on 3rd down defence, 1st in Red Zone defence and are tied for 2nd in total TDs allowed on the season.
While it’s unlikely that Waldron’s firing will cure all the team’s offensive woes, Brown will at a minimum open up the passing game to better utilize the team’s weapons in D.J. Moore, Odunze, and Keenan Allen.
Chicago is next in action on Sunday in a pivotal NFC North showdown with the Green Bay Packers at home.
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